Loving is a gift worth gold
by The Cinder Crown
Summary: "She's a taker. You need a giver." What if there was a hidden meaning behind Queenie's words? What if she wasn't talking about her sister? What if she starts feeling something for her friend? What if Newt does, too? Unrelated QueenieNewt one-shots. i. The Icedragon ii. Soulmate!AU iii. Blinddate!AU [Obviously, tiny spoilers for FBAWTFT]
1. A love to give hope in frozen times

**Loving is a gift worth gold**

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 **Written for the 'Torture the OTPs! Challenge!** [ _Your OTP is trapped in a cave. They are unable to escape the cave on their own and must wait to be rescued.]_

 **Written for the Rosaboxes challenge: Love level 1** [Prompt: "I'll always be there / As frightened as you / To help us survive / Being alive." from "Being Alive" - Company _]_

 **Note: again, slight spoilers for FBAWTFT**

 **Word count without A.N.:** 1,599

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 **i. A love to give hope in frozen times**

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„Newt. Are you sure that's the right way?"

Queenie Goldstein asked and her exhaled breath formed a cloud of white smoke due to the freezing air.

Shaking slightly, she also tightened her soft satin and rosé-colored robe around her as best as she could.

Then she turned her head ever so slightly to glance at her friend of several years now with a rather worried expression.

"Erm, give me a little more time, Q …. I think…" Newt Scamander bit his lip – which was never a good sign.

Then he slipped his hand into his robe and retrieved a very old looking map. His eyes scanned it for several minutes, but the way he was turning and staring at it from several different angles didn't make the strawberry-blonde-haired witch feel any better at all.

Especially now, that she was standing here in Antarctica; the freezing air blowing right into her face and nothing but snow and ice around her.

But ever since Newt came back to the States, Queenie had happily agreed to help him with his search for rare and endangered magical creatures and she wouldn't let him down on his quest for the _crystalline-ice-dragon_ either.

Though she really wished she had brought a warmer coat with her! ' _But who could have known that magic – including a simple heating charm - didn't work properly here in Antarctica…'_

Shaking her head slightly – in a vain attempt to get the snowflakes out of her curly hair – the grey-ish green-eyed witch focused on her friend again.

"We really are lost, aren't we?"

Newt turned and sighed. For some reason, her ability to read Newt's mind had ceased to function dramatically during the last couple of month and she had no idea why… but she could tell - even without her talent - that he was nervous.

"I probably would have used a different expression, but yes, _lost_ is pretty good."

He looked at her sheepishly; the map still tangling from his hand and nearly touching the snow-covered ground.

Queenie knew that it didn't happen very often that Newt got lost on his adventures, which caused her beautiful grey-ish green eyes to widen alarmingly.

"Let's try to get out of here, Q," Newt suggested reluctantly. "Let's hope we can apparate into a slightly warmer area…"

The strawberry-blonde haired witch raised an eyebrow and pointed into the distance. "Apart from the fact that you and I both know that magic tends to backfire here, there's a pretty big snow-storm coming right towards us. I doubt apparating is a good idea, Newt…"

The former Hufflepuff followed her glance and his eyes widened. "We just have to give it a try, I guess," he mumbled; then closed the distance between them with a couple of steps and took Queenie into his strong arms.

Instantly, the witch's heart skipped a beat at his touch. ' _This is nothing more than a little crush_ ,' she told herself, though she knew that the more she tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach, the deeper she was falling for her best friend.

Their friendship was something Queenie truly treasured and since she was indeed quite sure that Newt had no romantic feelings towards her, she didn't want to jeopardize it only because of a silly school-girl crush… so she tried to get her heavily beating heart under control.

"Ready?" The reddish-brown haired man asked and gave her a cute boy-ish smile. Queenie nodded, though her knees went week at seeing his lovely expression. "Good, then hold on tight. One. Two. Three."

...

Queenie cursed in frustration. She knew it wasn't appropriate for a lady to use improper language, but at this moment she couldn't care less.

Apparating had indeed been a fairly stupid idea; they had swirled right through the thick layer of ice and snow they had been standing on and they had landed hard on the cold and ice-covered ground.

She wasn't quite sure how much time had passed since then; all she knew was that they had already tried everything to escape the glacial cave, but it had all been in vain. Magic wasn't working at all down here and the exit whole above them was unreachable.

Rubbing her cold hands against each other, Queenie leaned back against the wall of the cave; her body shaking heavily. Her fingers were already stiff and hurting; her thin rosé-coloured gloves – that matched her robes so perfectly - were simply unable to hold off the terrible cold. Neither was her robe. The wind wasn't blowing as much as on the surface, but the cave was located under a thick layer of ice and temperatures had dropped alarmingly.

"We won't get out of here in time, will we?" Queenie whispered in a scared voice and laid her head on Newt's shoulder, who was sitting next to her.

The grey-ish green eyed witch knew that the longer they would be trapped in the cave, the more energy they would lose. And she already felt that exhaustion was about to get the better of her.

"Don't think that, Queenie," Newt whispered back and pulled her closer to his body in a weak attempt to warm her.

Shivering, the blonde witch felt the heat from his body slowly approaching hers; but they had been down there for hours and it was only a matter of time until they would both freeze to death.

The only good thing was that as long as his strong arms were wrapped around her thin waist, Queenie's heart would continue beating quickly.

"Queeny, listen. I'm sorry for all _this_ ," the former Hufflepuff apologized and looked at her with tired, guilty blue eyes.

"Newt – "

He put a cold finger on her already slightly blue-ish lips.

"This is all my fault," his words came out in a hoarse voice and his exhaled breath immediately formed into a white foggy cloud. "I was so sure the legend about the crystal-dragon was true! And now we're trapped in this bloody…"

He trailed of and looked at her sadly. "I never wanted you to get hurt."

Queenie didn't know what to say. She wanted to assure him that everything was going to be alright; that the cold wasn't as bad as it seemed; that someone was going to rescue them… But she knew better than lying to him.

"I know you'd never hurt me, Newt," she then replied softly and took his cold hand in her equally freezing one.

A sudden wave of exhaustion then hit her and she felt her eyes closing slowly.

 _She thought about something warm… the sofa in their apartment in New York… the heat of baking strudel in the oven… and the -_

"Don't fall asleep," her friend's voice and the way he was carefully shaking her brought her back to the present.

She slowly shook her head and blinked.

"I know it's tempting, but we mustn't fall asleep or we might never wake up!" Newt sounded firm, but there was also worry in his voice.

"I – I'm s-so c-cold," Queenie whispered in a shaking voice and despite her best affords she wasn't able to hold back the tears that started to form in her beautiful eyes.

"I know… "

The witch felt him move, and she gathered all her remaining strength to hold her head up.

Then she felt the soft fabric being put around her.

"What… are… you… doing…?" She asked confused.

"Making sure you'll stay warm," was all he said as he laid his own robe around her, drew her closer to his – now only in a shirt covered – chest and once again put his strong arms around her.

Shaking terribly, Queenie snuggled closer against his warm body and buried her head in his chest.

"T-thank y-you," she mumbled tiredly.

Newt's chest was also shivering as he took a deep breath and the freezing air was filling his lungs. Then he lowered his own head and rested his chin on her curly-haired head and whispered something she couldn't quite understand. "I'll always be there… as frightened as you… to help us survive… being alive…"

Queenie's eyes felt heavier and heavier with each passing moment. She tried to stay awake and looked around, but all she saw was ice, ice and more ice.

Exhaustion was finally getting the better of her, though her lips formed into a tiny smile as heard Newt's last words before she drifted off to sleep.

"Don't give up, Queenie, _please_! I care for you, I… I don't know what I would do without you."

...

Someone was shaking her. _Hard_.

" _Queenie_ … _Queenie_ … _Queenie_ … wake… up… _please_ …."

The witch barely heard the hoarse and muffled voice, but she fought with all her might and her eyes slowly fluttered open.

At first, everything was blurry. Then she slowly turned her stiff head. Newt was kneeling in front of her; his hands holding on to both her shoulders.

His hair and eyebrows were frozen, his face was ashen and his lips blue from the cold. But there was a sparkle in his blue eyes that gave her hope.

"Look," he whispered.

Queenie followed his glance and her tired green eyes widened in amazement. There he stood in all his beauty: The legendary ice-dragon. His skin was shimmering in several different shades of blue, his kind eyes resembled a deep blue ocean and he looked like he was made out of pure ice-crystals.

"He was hiding in the glacial-cave all this time," Newt whispered softly; then swept a completely exhausted Queenie up in his arms and mounted the dragon's back. "He'll bring us home."


	2. A love to heal scars, so pure and light

**Loving is a gift worth gold**

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 **Written for the OTP Challenge at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Round I |QueenieNewt|Soulmate!AU**

 **Written for the '100 Ways to say I love you' Challenge at HPFC #31. "Don't worry about me."**

 **Written for the Rosaboxes Challenge - loveII:** **"Playing with matches a girl can get burned..." ("Matchmaker" - _Fiddler on the Roof_ )Stanton**

 **Words: 2,200**

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 **ii. A love to heal scars, so pure and light**

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"Newt, what exactly are you doing?"

Queenie Goldstein couldn't quite help herself but giggle a little at the sight that greeted her upon descending the last steps and stepping onto the ground of her friend's suitcase.

"What does it look like?" Tina asked laughing as she gave her little sister a hug. "He's getting himself in trouble with one of his creatures once again."

The strawberry-haired witch raised an eyebrow. Newt stood – as she had expected – in one of his many compounds; her sister on the other hand had apparently observed the scene from a safe distance.

Admittedly, it looked incredibly funny. The way he was trying to climb the big oak tree to reach the rainbow-coloured bird-like animal that was hiding in between the tree's leaves.

"Why in Merlin's name doesn't he use a ladder?" Queenie whispered into her sister's ear.

Tina simply shrugged and smirked. "I don't know. Newt, why don't you use a ladder?"

With one hand on a branch, the other clinging to the trunk, Newt turned his head to the ladies. He opened his mouth a couple of times, but no words came out. At that moment, he sort of resembled the small, frog-like creature he had showed them last week.

 _Bloody hell. A ladder! Why didn't I think of that!_

Queenie giggled involuntarily. Sometimes she couldn't quite help herself but read someone's mind. And despite the fact that she had encountered a couple of problems at reading Newt's thoughts during the last couple of weeks, there was no way she could _not_ read such a blunt and loud thought like that.

To keep him from his misery, the greyish-green eyed witch waved her wand and the grass underneath Newt's feet moved. Elegantly it grew upwards and created a nice ladder.

The Zoologist sighed in relief once his feet came in contact with it.

"Thanks, Q," he muttered and his blue eyes twinkled, "what would I do without you."

Tina rolled her eyes. "You'd be lost."

Newt blushed a bright crimson. "Yes, well, I suppose I would."

Queenie's heart skipped a beat at hearing his words. She had only seen him blush once or twice since his return to the States, and usually it wasn't because of something she did. She had been delighted at seeing him again after their adventure, even more so upon seeing the lovely smile when the sisters had offered him that he could stay with them for as long as he wanted.

At first, it was only the usual crush, and Queenie had tried her best not to think about it any further. She even tried to distract herself with Jacob – but after the first date she had with him, the strawberry haired witch just knew that there was no point in being with a man she'd never love. There was something about Newt that caused the butterflies in her stomach to take flight.

The mega-watt smiles that lit up his face whenever a plan of his worked out, or the way his blue eyes sparkled upon seeing a new hatchling of one of his creatures…

It was very similar to the current situation, and it was such a cute sight to see him with his cheeks still a little rosy and that particular strand of hair sticking up in an adorable way and – _Get a grip on yourself, Queenie! This will never work out…_

The witch shook her head to clear her thoughts. She knew that she had to do something to distract herself from having improper thoughts about her tall, brown haired friend standing on the green ladder in front of her.

No matter what kind of feelings she had – and Queenie wasn't quite sure about that herself – she was certain that Newt wasn't interested in her. After all, he would have said something, right? And well, Tina had always been the one guys had fallen for. Most of the time, Queenie was only 'Propertina's little sister', and even though it hurt, Newt was probably thinking the same.

Straightening her coral coloured dress, the witch decided to break the awkward silence.

"So, what exactly do you want with that – that…" she didn't quite know what creature it was that was still sitting on top of the tree, so she just gestured towards it with a helpless look on her face.

Again, the bright smile he shot her upon mentioning his work hit her unexpectedly, but Queenie managed to stay focused.

"It's a Soulmatusi," Newt explained and carefully climbed the ladder. "They are one of the most endangered species. Only a couple of them are still alive."

Queenie smirked. She loved it when he talked so enthusiastically about saving these animals.

"Is there anything special about them?" Tina asked and eyed the rainbow-coloured animal with interest.

Newt, trying to shove the leaves away to get a better glimpse at the animal, nodded. "There's not much known about the Soulmatusi," he lowered his voice as he got closer to the creature, "rumor has it that they are able to predict a person's soul-mate."

Queenie's eyes widened, as did Tina's – though probably for different reasons.

"You believe really in soul-mates, Newt?" the elder Goldstein woman asked skeptically, while all Queenie could think of was the fear of getting to know the woman that was supposed to be her best friend's soul-mate. Her heart contradicted painfully when the dreaded thought of Leta Lestrange's name appearing on his arm crossed her mind.

Newt, however, wasn't able to see Queenie's pained expression since his back was facing them, so he only shrugged and reached out to carefully catch the animal.

"I don't know. I want to believe in it," he whispered, "and there is so little known about soul-mates in general… all the legend says something like... with the Soulmatusi's help, one will find their true love, which can heal even the deepest scar... or something like that."

Queenie's throat felt uncomfortably dry, and she took a couple of deep intakes of breath. The rainbow-coloured animal looked so innocent, but if the legend was really true, it held a very frightening power.

"Do – Do you know who it works?" The strawberry haired witch stuttered in a weak attempt to distract herself.

Newt shook his head, his hands almost touching the little creature. "I have absolutely no idea. But that's what I'm trying to find ou – _OUCH_!"

...

Newt lazily opened his eyes. Once the light of the candle met his eyes, he blinked a couple of times to get used to the brightness. At first, everything was nothing more but a blur of colours – though the thing that stuck out to him was a faint greyish-green. Soon, he could make out the dark, crimson red curtains in the background, the leather couch, and something that looked remarkably like a fresh strudel on the table. Once his vision had cleared completely, he was stunned for a moment when the greyish-green blur turned out to be a pair of amazing, but at the same time worried green eyes that belonged to his friend Queenie.

"What – What happened…?" he asked, completely confused.

"You don't remember?" sounded Tina's voice from somewhere behind, and seconds later, she too, stood next to him.

That was the moment when he realized that he was resting on a soft bed, a blanket covering his legs.

"This Soulmatusi creature thing," Tina continued with an 'I-told-you-so' expression on her face, "it attacked you."

Now this was new to him. "Really?"

Tina's brown eyes rolled. "How many times have I told you to be careful around your animals, hmm?"

Newt rolled his blue eyes as well and pushed himself up to sit straight; then he felt a sharp pain in his left arm. Wincing, he looked at both sisters and shrugged. "I know, I know. But how was I supposed to know that – "

"Such a sweet little rainbow-coloured animal could struck its claws so deep into your left arm that you fell of the ladder and it wouldn't stop bleeding for hours?"

Now his eyes widened. "Hours?"

Queenie sighed. "You lost a lot of blood. We were quite worried about you."

Newt moved his head, ignored the pain in his arm, and looked into her eyes. The pain and worry in her greyish-green eyes caused his heart to skip a beat. He never wanted her to worry about him. And in a way, he was glad that the Soulmatusi's legend was apparently untrue. He didn't know how he would react upon finding out that some woman would turn out to be his soul-mate, when he knew that deep down his heart was already beating heavily for a young, beautiful, green-eyed and strawberry haired witch?

"No need to worry, Q, I'll be alright," he tried to sound reassuring, but once he took a glance at his injured arm, he had to admit that he was quit shocked. The wound was clear – probably a skilled piece of magic by either one of the Goldstein sisters.

"It will leave a scar," Queenie whispered, her voice thick with emotion, "we did all we could, but…"

With his good arm, Newt reached out, smiled softly and carefully took her small hand in his. "I know you did. And it won't be the last scar, I'm sure."

Tina only rolled her eyes once more. "Oh yes, knowing you, it won't be."

...

Queenie would never admit it, but she felt like a little school girl once again.

The reason for that was the fact that Newt had his arm wrapped around her waist, and walked with her towards the plane. A couple of weeks had passed since the accident with the Soulmatusi, and just yesterday, Newt had received a letter from an old friend, asking him for advice on a creature he had found in his backyard.

With the promise to return as soon as possible, he said his good-byes to Tina before he packed his suitcase to fly back to England.

It was very early in the morning, but Queenie didn't mind and accompanied him to the airport. The twilight was beautiful, as was the arm around his waist.

"Be careful with that creature," the strawberry-haired witch told him with a small smirk as she pointed to the deep scar on his arm.

Newt smirked. "I will be, don't worry about me."

Queenie was about to reply that she would always worry about him, but bit her lip in the last second. They were just friends, nothing more.

"Take care, Newt," she said instead, then ignored her heavily beating heart and the little voice in her head.

 _'Playing with matches a girl can get burned...'_ she thought but stood on her toe-tips nevertheless to give him a chaste kiss on the cheek.

"You too, Q," the Zoologist mumbled, and pulled her into a tight hug. His heart was beating fast, but in the end he released her, and their eyes met for one last time before he turned around and headed towards the plane.

"Come back to me," Queenie whispered as she waved her good-bye and watched the man leave with a heavy heart.

...

Seated on the plane, Newt stared out of the window and watched the green-eyed witch turn around; her stunning coral dress swinging in the air.

He would treasure the feeling of their embrace until he would see her again. The feeling of her body in his arms was something that felt so right. He didn't want to let go, but he knew that he had to. Newt still felt the blood rushing through his veins as she gave him the little kiss.

Lost in thoughts, he traced the place on his cheek with his hand, noticing the remains of her lipstick on it.

Then he moved his arms, and when his eyes accidently fell upon his left one, his mouth dropped open.

His scar was gone. Completely. There was nothing left of it, nothing remained. Nothing that would indicate that there was even the smallest of scratches.

...

During the whole flight, he was pondering about how something like this was possible. He thought about the spells he had spoken before his flight, the potions he had tried, but nothing made sense. Then he thought about the creatures he had worked with during the last days. At first, there wasn't anything that would explain the healing of this scar.

Taking his suitcase, he descended the stairs of the plane, and sighed in relief at feeling solid ground underneath his feet once again.

And when he looked up at the rainy and sunny sky, the sight of the rainbow above him hit him like a broomstick on his head. Rainbow. Rainbow coloured creatures. The Soulmatusi!

Shoving back the sleeves of his shirt once more to take another look at his healed scar, his heart skipped a beat as he remembered the Soulmatusi's legend. The legend that it would help to find one's soul-mate...

" _I will show you the soul to re-unite, whose love will heal scars, so pure and light."_

Immediately, a thought shot through his head. He traced his cheek again, where he had been kissed earlier. And his heart skipped a beat at the thought of the woman who had given him the kiss. The kiss, so soft, so pure, so light… that it healed his scar.

 _Queenie._


	3. A love to catch stars so silent at night

**Loving is a gift worth gold**

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 **i. Written for the 'last ship sailing' competition** || QueenieNewt || Word: direction || Object: chair || Colour peach || Weather: sunshine

 **ii. Written for the OTP list challenge** ||QueenieNewt || blindDate!AU

 **iii. Written for the OTP Challenge at Hogwarts** || QueenieNewt || "Do you think you could stay…you know, just for a little while? I don't think I'm ready to be on my own yet."

 **iv. written for the FRIENDS Competition** || 2.09 TOW Phoebe's Dad: Write a family fic. Alt. Write about a bad Christmas present.

 **v. written for the 100 ways to say I love you challenge** || 13. 'Sorry, I'm late'

 **vi.** **Written for the Ultimate AU Promptathlon** || Tropes || Blind-Date!AU

 **vii. Written for the Theme Challenge** || Theme seven || Loyalty || Write about Hufflepuff (the house or a character)

 **words:** 1.754

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 **iii. A love to catch stars, so silent at night**

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Queenie cursed inwardly as she walked along the busy streets of New York City. It was a beautiful day considering that it was already the end of December, and only little remained of the snow mountains that had covered the city only a couple of days ago.

Turning a corner rather quickly, she enjoyed the last bit of sunshine that was tickling her face before she waved her wand, tapped three times at the wall in front of her and watched contently as the thick, red, brick wall in front of her glowed in a silvery light. Quickly, she tightened her coat around her floor length peach coloured gown and slipped effortlessly through the now see-through wall.

Where no-majs were seen on the streets earlier, the strawberry-haired witch now smiled slightly at the sight of all the magic that greeted her. So far, she had never been to the famous Diagon Alley in London, but from what Newt had told her, it worked in a very similar way; efficiently separating magical and ordinary worlds.

On her way to the rather fancy looking restaurant, the witch greeted several people; albeit hoping that none of the men she had had the _great pleasure_ of working with would be sitting at her table.

Upon entering, the waiter immediately took her coat and led her to in the direction of her table.. He even gave her a menu, though she insisted on waiting for her 'date'.

However, the mere thought of it sent goose-bumps down her spine.

She still remembered when, a couple of days ago on Christmas Eve, her sister had given her this 'very special present'...

...

" _Come on, Q, open it already!" Tina Goldstein said eagerly. Her brown eyes danced in the candlelight as she watched her sister._

 _Queene, who for some extraordinary weird reasons never really liked Christmas, accepted the gift with a rather forced smile._

 _Unwrapping the paper, she thought about Newt and how he always cheered her up; but unfortunately, he had to leave for London rather unexpectedly. She would never admit it out aloud, but she missed him dearly already._

 _When the last bit of the moving, bright crimson red paper fell to the ground, Queenie stared at her gift, then at her sister with wide, shocked eyes._

" _You, erm, you don't really expect me to…?"_

 _Tina only laughed. "I knew you'd love it!"_

 _The green-eyed witch swallowed hard; Tina obviously didn't realise that this gift was not what she had expected it to be._

" _Come on, Q, it's gonna be fun!"_

 _Queenie raised an eyebrow and looked at the ticket in her hand. "A date in a restaurant with a man I don't even know is supposed to be fun?"_

 _The elder Goldstein sister sighed. "It's called a blind date! And yes, it will be good for you!" Here she smirked a little; brown eyes twinkling mischievously. "Believe me, you're gonna love it."_

…

And now here she was, waiting at a fancy restaurant for some guy to show up. A guy her sister had set her up with nonetheless.

Queenie sighed again. It wasn't that she didn't love her sister; on the contrary, she really did! But sometimes… Tina still had to learn to mind her own business. Especially when it came to her love life!

It wasn't like Queenie _wanted_ to be alone; she had been on a couple of dates during the last few month. The thing Tina didn't know was that there was only one man the little Goldstein sister was interested in… and that man was currently somewhere on the other side of the ocean; hunting whatever magical creature he had encountered.

…

Glancing at her clock, Queenie's mood only worsened. The fact that she actually agreed to something as stupid as a blind date was bad enough, but being stood up by a strange man that didn't even know her only made it worse.

So despite herself, she ordered a glass of red wine and downed half of it in one go. She'd be waiting for a couple of more minutes before leaving, she told herself.

…

When she sipped the last drop of her wine, Queenie struggled to keep her tears in check. She was about to get up, when she felt a cold hand on her shoulder.

Startled, she jerked around and her green eyes widened.

"Sorry I'm late," the tall, brown haired man apologised, and handed her a beautiful bouquet of flowers. "There was this issue at the airport… they weren't really fond of the niffler I had with me and well…"

Queenie opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, before she managed to take the bouquet into her hands.

"Newt! What - what are you doing here?" she stuttered, half surprised, half delighted at seeing the handsome blue eyed wizard.

In a very gentlemanly gesture, he pulled out the old wooden chair for her and waited for her to sit down on the table again.

With a quick movement of his hand, he signaled the waiter to bring them another round of drinks, before he sat down himself; a boy-ish smile on his face.  
"Well, your sister still owed me a favour," he explained as he lit the little candle on the table.

Queenie stared at him, completely flummoxed.

"I wanted to invite you personally," Newt smiled, reached out and took her small hand in his; squeezing it softly, "but somehow, the owl I sent got lost. So I contacted Tina and asked her if she was able to get you to meet me today."

By now, the fog that had been clouding her brain slowly vanished, and a thought formed in her mind.

"Though I do have the feeling that you didn't expect me."

Despite herself, Queenie giggled - whether it was due to the rather unusual situation or the fact that Newt was really holding her hand. It was so strong and soft and the smell… she loved cinnamon.

"Tina's 'present' for me," the witch explained with a soft smile, "was sending me on a blind date. I was terrified by the thought of some weird stranger having dinner with me, to be honest."

Newt's mouth formed a quiet 'o', before he, too, started to chuckle.

"I should have known Tina would pull something like that on me…"

Queenie flashed him a 100-mega-watt smile and squeezed his hand as well. "It was definitely a surprise. A better one than I had expected, Newt."

´The zoologist smiled sweetly and for a moment, the witch got lost in his dark blue eyes. "So, you're still having dinner with me, Q?"

Hearing this, her heart skipped a beat in excitement and her green eyes twinkled. "Absolutely."

….

Later that night, the two of them were walking along the now deserted streets of New York; Newt's arm resting securely around Queenie's waist.

The dinner, despite its rocky start, had been wonderful. They had talked about literally everything; how things went in London, the newest events in New York, funny stories about Jacob and his shop, magical creatures, hopes, dreams, fears, everything.

It was a wonderful feeling; to be so close to him and she still couldn't really believe it.

When they reached the next bridge, they stopped at its top and stared at the dark, quiet sea beneath them; the stars twinkling in the distance.

"This - this is lovely, Newt," Queenie whispered, resting her head against the crook of his neck.

"Yeah, you are," the wizard said, lost in his thoughts.

At his words, however, the witch moved ever-so-slightly to look at him; green eyes full of hope, fear and something in between.

"Thanks for coming with me tonight," Newt said before Queenie had the chance. He tightened his arms further around her and the witch felt her heart racing.

"You thought I wouldn't?" she whispered with a smile.

To her surprise, Newt turned and looked rather serious. "Of course. I usually don't get my hopes up too high with women… I know how to deal with creatures, all sorts of them… women, however, will always be a mystery to me."

She giggled. It was one of the things she loved about him. The plain honesty he was displaying, and the lovely boy-ish smile he wore on his face when doing so.

"And you, Queenie Goldstein, are not like most women. You are special. That makes it even more difficult to work up the courage to ask you out for a date."

A date. A date. A date. He had really said it.

Queenie's green eyes widened; happiness written plainly in them.

"You really wanted to go out with me," she stated, matter of factly; still not entirely believing her luck.

"You thought I wouldn't?" Newt asked with a smile; repeating her earlier question which caused her smile to widen.

"To be honest, I always thought you have a thing for Tina… and that I was just 'her little sister'."

Newt chuckled, but didn't say anything. Instead, he used his arm around her waist, pulled her even closer and kissed her softly.

The feeling of his lips on hers caused the time around them to stop for a moment. It was slow, soft, but still passionate and filled with love that even the stars in the night paled in comparison.

Once the need for air got too great, they broke the kiss; albeit still standing close together, with Queenie's head resting against his chest now. She looked up and their eyes met; dark blue meeting light green. They smiled at each other lovingly, before turning back to watch the stars.

…

Queenie didn't know how much time had passed, but somehow, Newt had apparated them back to their apartment.

Newt, who by now had his own, hesitantly returned to the streets while Queenie opened the front door.

However, when she was halfway through, she turned around, walked down the couple of stairs and softly put her arms around his neck.

"Do you think you could stay…you know, just for a little while? I don't think I'm ready to be on my own yet," she whispered lovingly into his ear.

Newt smiled, "yes, I think I could… for a little while at least," he said and kissed her again, right there on the spot, with the starry sky above them.


End file.
